Machine for inserting strip material into slots



J; M. BIDDISON 2,808,640

MACHINE FOR INSERTING' STRIP MATERIAL mo SLOTS Oct. 8, 1957* 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 4, 1953 INVENTOR. JflA/IV M, 5/00/J0'A Oct. 8, 1957 J. M. BIDDISON' MACHINE FOR INSERTING STRIP MATERIAL INTO SLOTS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 4; 1955 Oct. 8, 1957 J. M. BIDDISON 2,808,640

MACHINE FOR INS ERTING STRIP MATERIAL INTO SLOTS Filed D80. 4, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 29 INVENTOR. 34 JfiH/V M 5/00/50/1 United Sttes MACHINE FOR INSERTING STRIP MATERIAL INTO SLOTS John M. Biddison, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to Harry W. Moore, Dayton, Ohio This invention relates to a machine for inserting strip material into slots. It relates more particularly to a machine for inserting strip material into coil slots of armature cores. The invention relates still more particularly to an apparatus for inserting wedge material or top stick material into armature cores which have been wound. However, the invention is not so limited in that it may be employed for insulating stators or other elements of electrical machines. The invention may be also be used for inserting strip material into any type of slots and may be used for other purposes. This invention relates to my copending application, Serial No. 375,523, filed on or about August 20, 1953.

An object of this invention is to provide an automatically operating machine for inserting strip material into coil slots of armature cores.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for longitudinally inserting strip material into coil slots of rotors or stators of electric machines.

Another object of this invention is to provide an efliciently operating machine used in the manufacture of electrical devices which reduces the cost of production without reducing quality Another object of the invention is to provide a machine which can automatically insert strip material into slots of various types of devices and apparatus.

Other objects and advantages reside in the construction of parts, the combination thereof and the mode of operation, as will become more apparent from the following description.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a machine of this invention for inserting strip material into slots.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a strip of wedge material adapted to be placed into a coil slot of a rotor.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantial- 1y on line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a wound armature with the strip material positioned in the coil slots thereof.

Figure 5 is a side elevational view partly in section :showing the elements of the apparatus for inserting strip material into coil slots of a rotor during one step in the operation of the apparatus.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6 showing another step in the operation of inserting strip material into the coil slots of a rotor.

Figure 8 is a side elevational view similar to Figure 5 and showing a further step in the operation of the apparatus of this invention.

. Figure 9 is a side elevational view similar to Figures 5 and 8 and showing a further step in the operation of inserting strip material into the coil slots of a rotor.

Figure 10 is a section view taken substantially on line 1) 10 of Figure 5.

atent O Figure 11 is a'perspective view disclosing the retainer element of the apparatus of this invention.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a bed structure 16 supports a frame 18. Attached to the frame 18 and supported thereby is a housing 20. The housing 20 is divided into two portions by a channel 24 extending therethrough. The housing may also comprise two block members so juxtaposed as to have space exist between them. Attached to a head member 25 of the frame 18 in substantially horizontal alignment with the channel 24 is an upper chuck member 26 and a lower chuck member 28. The chuck members 26 and 28 are adapted to retain a rotor, such as rotor 29, provided with winding coils 27 within coil solts 30, while the coil slots 30 are provided with strip-material.

One end of a shaft 31 of the rotor 29 abuttingly engages a stop 32 adjustably attached to the frame 18 by means of a rod 33 provided with nuts 34. The other end of the shaft 31 is engaged by a clamping member 35 which is attached to an arm 36. The arm 36 is rigidly attached to a rod 37 by means of a bolt 38. The rod 37. is rotatably supported in a bearing support 40 of the frame 18 and the rod 37 is movable by means of an actuator rod 42 through a linkage 43. Movement of the actuator rod 42 is guided through an aperture 44 of a rigidly mounted arm 45. Thus movement of the actuator rod 42 clamps the clamping member 35 against one end of the shaft 31 while retaining the other end of the shaft 31 firmly against the stop 32.

The machine of this invention disclosed in the drawings is particularly adapted to insert wedge or top stick material into the coil slots of armatures after the armatures have been wound. However, the apparatus shown and described herein may be used toinsert other types of insulating material into the slots of rotors before or after the rotors are wound. a a

At a rearward end 46 of the bed structure 16 wedge material 48 is properly formed by rolls 50. A cross sectional view of a typical formation of wedge material used is shown in Figure 3. The forming rolls 50 which are rotated by any suitable means cause a continuous strip of the wedge material 48 to move forwardly along the bed 16 toward the housing 20. A pair of projections 52 extend into the channel 24 from the housing 20 at the upper end thereof. The forming rolls 50 further move the strip of wedge material and the wedge material 48 enters the channel 24 immediately subjacent the projections 52 and slidably engages the lower side of the projections 52 as best shown in Figure 6.

A retainer 54 abuttingly engages the lower side of the strip of wedge material 48holding it against the projections 52. The retainer 54 is integrally attached to a pair of fingers 56 which are integral with a pair of arms 57, as clearly disclosed in Figure 11. The arms 57 are pivotal 1y attached to the frame 18 by means of a pin 58. At the end of each of the arms 57 is mounted a spring 60 which biases the ends of the arms 57 from the housing 20 and thus resiliently biases the retainer 54 upwardly.

After the strip of wedge material 48 has entered the upper portion of the channel 24 and is retained against the projections 52 by the retainer 54, the strip of wedge material 48 is cut to'the proper length by means of a vertically movable blade 62 and a stationary blade 64.

Following the severing operation, a transfer blade 66, which is reciprocally operable, is moved downwardly and longitudinally engages the cut section of wedge material 48. The transfer blade 66, attached to a piston rod 67v and operated by a fluid motor 68, continues to move downwardly as it transfers the cut section of wedge material 48 from the upper portion of the channel 24 to the lowerportion of the channel 24. The retainer 54 corn Patented Oct. 8, 1957 tinues to resiliently engage the cut section of wedge material 48 as it is moved downwardly by the transfer blade 66 and the retainer 54 holds the section of wedge material 48 firmly against the. transfer blade 66 so that the wedge material 48 is retained horizontally disposed as it is transferred downwardly within the channel 24 as shown in Figure 6. As the section of wedge material 48 is moved farther downwardly as shown in Figure 7, it engages a pair of elongate trap jaws 69, the edges of which are angularly inclined. The trap jaws are slidably mounted in the housing'2tl and are resiliently retained by means of springs 70 in a position in which the inclined edges thereof project into the channel 24 near the bottom of the channel 24. Each of the trap jaws 69 has a recess 72, as best shown in Figure 10, providing an opening in which the retainer 54 moves. After the cut section of wedge material 48 engages the trap jaws 69 the transfer blade 66 forces the section of wedge material farther downwardly. This action forces the trap jaws ,69 outwardly against the pressure of the springs 70. The section of wedge material 48 is moved farther downwardly, held between the transfer blade 66 and the retainer 54 until the section of strip material 48 passes the trap jaws 69, as shown in Figure 8. The width of the transfer blade 66 is less than the minimum distance between the trap jaws 69. Therefore, the trap jaws 69 snap inwardly one toward the other by action of the springs '70 as the section of wedge material 48 passes below the trap jaws 69. The section of wedge material 48 is thus confined below the trap jaws 69 and rests upon the projections 76 of the housing 20 at the bottom of the channel 24 as shown by dotted lines in Figures 6 and 7. a

The retainer 54 is lowered farther by operation of a pair of plunger rods 86 against the pair of arms 57. The plunger rods 80 are attached one to the other at the upper ends thereof by a cross bar 81 and are moved downwardly by a piston rod 82 which is actuated by a fluid motor 86. The plunger rods 8%) push the arms 57 downwardly removing the retainer 54 from the path of an inserting ram 90 so that the inserting ram 90 can operate to longitudinally push the section of wedge material 48 toward the rotor 29.

As the inserting ram 9% moves the section of wedge material 48 toward the rotor 29, a tamper 92 is operated to strike the coil of the slot 30 of the rotor 29 bending downwardly the portions of the coils of wire immediately at the ends of the coil slot 30 into which the section of wedge material 48 is to be inserted. The operation of the tamper 92 removes from the path of the wedge material 48 any portions of the coils of wire which may protrude from the rotor 29 at the end opening to a coil slot 30 which may offer an impediment to the movement of the wedge material 48 into the coil slot. The operation of the tamper is clearly shown in Figure 9. The tamper 92 is supported by an arm 94 having a bifurcated portion 96 which is pivotally attached to a bracket 98 of the head member 25. The arm 94 of the tamper 92 is pushed downwardly by a piston rod 100 operated by a fluid motor 102. The actuation of the tamper 92 is only momentary and the tamper 92 is resiliently returned to its normal position, shown in Figures and 8, by a helical spring 104 which is disposed between the arm 94 and the head member 25.

While the tamper 92 is operated, the inserting ram 94 continues to move the section of wedge material 43 toward the coil slot 3.0 into which it is to be inserted. The insorting ram 90 moves the section of wedge material 43; the section of wedge material 48 is thereby forced into the coil slot 30 through the end thereof, above the coils of wire 27, and is positioned as clearly shown in Figure 4. After the section of wedge material 48 is located in the coil slot 30, the inserting ram 90 is retracted and the fluid motor 86 'is deactuated relieving the downward pressure by the plunger rods 80 on the arms 57. The plunger rods 80 are then resiliently moved upwardly and returned to their normal position by means of a pair of helical springs 106, one of which encircles each plunger rod 80. The retainer 54 moves upwardly by action of the springs 60 as pressure on the arms 57 is released by upward movement of the plunger rods and the retainer 54 is thus repositioned to engage another section of wedge material 48 as a new cutting and inserting cycle is begun. The new section of strip material is moved forwardly into the top portion of the channel 24 as the inserting rammoves forwardly, advancing the section of strip mate-- rial at the lower portion of the channel 24, as shown in- Figure 9.

Fluid motors 68, 86 and 1932 are actuated by operation of solenoid operable fluid valves 110, 112 and 114 re-' spectively. The rotor 29 is rotativfily indexed to position another coil slot in alignment'with the channel 24. This indexing operation and the control of the elements of the complete machine are accomplished in a manner similar to that described in my copending application, Serial No. 375,523, mentioned above.

Thus it may be understood that the machine of this invention is operable to automatically insert rapidly and efficiently wedge material or top stick material into a rotor. The apparatus of this invention is also operable toinsert other types of strip material into rotors or other types of apparatus or devices,

Although the preferred embodiment of the device has been described, it will be understood that within the purview of this invention various changes may be made in the forms, details, proportion and arrangement of parts, the combination thereof andmodc of operation, which generally stated consist in a device capable of carrying out the objects set forth, as disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In an; apparatus for inserting wedge material into coil slots of rotors, the combination comprising a frame, a head member attached to the frame, a housing attached to the frame adjacent the head member, said housing being provided with a channel therein, the channel being partially enclosed, projections attached to the housing and extending into the channel and constituting partial closures of the channel, means attached to the fname for moving strip material into the channel adjacent the projections, cutting means attached to the frame for severing the strip material, a transfer blade reciprocally attached to the frame and movable adjacent the projections for engaging the strip material within the channel and for transferring the strip material transversely within the channel, yieldable retaining means movable within the channel for engaging the strip material and cooperable with the transfer blade, trap jaw means slidably attached to the housing and extending into the channel and resiliently positioned therein, the transfer blade being operable to urge the strip material past the trap jaw means, the tnap jaw means confining the strip material longitudinally to a portion of the. channel, clamping means attached to the frame for retaining a rotor adjacent the housing and in alignment with the channel therein, reciprocally operable tamper means attached to the head member and movable to engage a rotor retained by the clamping means, and ram means for engaging strip material confined by the trap jaw means :and for mov'mg the strip material from the channel and into a coil slot of -a rotor retained by the clamping means.

2. An apparatus for inserting strip material into coil slots of rotors of the type provided with :a shaft, h .combination comprising a frame, a pair of block members attached to the frame and so juxtaposed that a channel exist between them, each block member having a projection extending into the channel at the lower and upper portions thereof, a chuck attached to the frame in alignment with the channel between the blocks for retaining a rotor, shaft clamping means supported by the frame and cooperable with the chuck, means attached to the frame for advancing strip material into the channel between the blocks, a first reciprocally operable fluid motor attached to the frame, an elongate transfer blade attached to the fluid motor and movable by the fluid motor into the channel between the projections of the blocks, the transfer blade being adapted to longitudinally engage strip material within the channel and to lower the strip material transversely within the channel, a retainer having arms pivotally attached to the frame below the blocks and movable in the channel between the blocks, resilient means urging the retainer upwardly in the channel to yieldably engage strip material within the channel, a trap jaw slidably supported by each block extendible into the channel between the blocks intermediate the upper and lower portions thereof, resilient means biasing each trap jaw outwardly from the block by which it is supported, a tamper having an arm pivotally attached to the frame above the chuck, a second reciprocally operable fiuid motor attached to the frame and having a rod engageable with the arm of the tamper for actuation thereof, the tamper being engageable with a rotor retained in the chuck, the retainer being operable to urge strip material against the projections at the lower portions of the blocks, and an inserting ram reciprocally operable along the projections of the blocks to urge strip material from the channel between the blocks and into a coil slot of a rotor retained in the chuck.

3. In an apparatus for inserting strip material into coil slots of rotors, the combination comprising a frame, a head member attached to the frame, a housing attached to the frame adjacent the head member, the apparatus having a cutting level and an inserting level, said apparatus being provided with a channel therein, means attached to the fname for moving strip material longitudinally into the channel at the cutting level, cutting means attached to the frame for severing strip material at the cutting level, transfer means carried by the frame for moving strip material normal to the longitudinal axis thereof from the cutting level to the inserting level while the strip material is disposed in the channel, means confining the strip material within the channel during movement thereof from the cutting level to the inserting level, clamping means attached to the frame for retaining a rotor adjacent the housing with the rotor having a coil slot thereof in alignment with the channel at said inserting level, and ram means for engaging strip material within the channel at the inserting level and for moving the strip material longitudinally from the channel into said coil slot of the rotor retained by the clamping means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,479,248 Moore Jan. 1, 1924 2,340,291 Wirtz Feb. 1, 1944 2,390,897 Poole et al. Dec. 11, 1945 2,441,876 Fleisch May 18, 1948 

